


Homecoming

by QueenBookBuff



Series: The Scarlet and SJ Chronicles [7]
Category: That '70s Show
Genre: All of our Tomorrows Universe, Alternate Universe, Brother and Sister - Freeform, Dances, F/M, Falling In Love, Father-Daughter Relationship, Future Fic, History Repeated, Homecoming, Original Character(s), Past hurt, Prom Dress, She Belongs to Me Universe, Twins
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-24
Updated: 2020-12-24
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:46:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,811
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28278591
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenBookBuff/pseuds/QueenBookBuff
Summary: Jackie spends time reflecting on a very special moment in her life with Hyde. A moment that changed everything. She thinks about the night he took her to prom. She knows Scarlet is on the verge of finding her tomorrow, and decides it is time to bring out a very special dress. Hyde in the meantime deals with seeing himself in the boy that is stealing his daughter's heart. Both SJ and Scarlet take a step further down the road to repeating the love story that formed them.
Relationships: Brother/Sister, Jackie Burkhart/Steven Hyde, SJ Hyde and AnneMarie Murphy, Scarlet Hyde and Caleb Haze
Series: The Scarlet and SJ Chronicles [7]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1977190
Comments: 15
Kudos: 18





	Homecoming

**Author's Note:**

> When Scarlet and SJ popped into my head, it was this chapter that brought them to life. I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I love watching Jackie and Hyde watch their children fall in love, and I love to see the new generation of Hydes find their matches.
> 
> As I have said before, I base my twin information on my husband who is an identical twin and my daughter's best friend is the male half of girl and boy twins. I have always been fascinated by their connection to one another. 
> 
> Sometimes I feel like I am writing this story for myself, but these characters are so bright and vivid in my head. When I started the She belongs to me universe, I had no idea that this would all unfold on such a large scale. I hope all of you enjoy this world.

Jackie was delighted to be by herself. It was a beautiful fall day, the air warm, but autumn danced on the breeze. She was thrilled, Steven was off with Eric, SJ, and Jackson for a day trip to Milwaukee to watch a late season ballgame. She was pleased he was off doing something he enjoyed. He needed it after the loss of Red. He had shouldered so much, at the price of his own heart and grief. She had been keeping an eye on him, and was pleased to see him excited to go do something. He had sweetly asked her if she wanted to go, but she would rather wear cheap denim, then spend her day watching baseball in a gross stadium. Time had not changed Jackie’s aversion to being less than comfortable. Scarlet had gone with AnneMarie to shop for last minute Homecoming items now that SJ and AnneMarie were going to the dance together. It made Jackie smile in her heart to think of her boy finding a girl who put stars in his eyes.

Jackie had a particular reason for wanting to be alone on this day. Steven didn’t know it, but today was the anniversary of the day Sam sauntered into their lives. Jackie hated this day, because next to almost dying this was the worst day of her life. The pain that she suffered when Sam walked in the door, was a wound that still throbbed. She had been in a hellish place that day, and if Steven knew how dark he would never forgive himself. It was part of the reason she was content to be alone. It gave her some time to remind herself they had overcome the worst, and became stronger than she ever thought possible. Steven was her world. Her heart at times had paid the price of loving him with her soul. Because that was what Steven was to her, he was her existence. She knew that was not very healthy, but she didn’t care. Jackie had made the decision this morning that she was going to change the memory of today. She was going to fill this day with a new memory, one that she had been waiting for.

  
  


Jackie wandered into her closet. It was magnificent, and her favorite place in the whole house. Steven had built her the closet. It was huge, with a built-in vanity and a pretty bench in the middle for her to sit on. He had installed cupboards for her makeup, shoes, and all her other fashion musts. In the far corner was a dainty reading chair for her to curl up in when she wanted a moment alone. What she was after was tucked back into the corner of her closet, but never far from her mind or heart. There in the very back was her first prom dress, the one she wore when Kelso went with Pam Macy, and she had browbeaten Steven into taking her. That one moment in time when she was sixteen forever changed her relationship with Steven. 

She had never been able to get rid of it. Always feeling tethered to the moment where she realized what she felt for him. Even in her darkest hour with Steven, this dress had been a comfort to her. The night he told her he was staying with Sam, she had run home, yanked it out of the closet, and planned to rip it to shreds. Instead, she had gathered it close, wept wildly into the dress, unable to reconcile the sweet boy who took her to the dance to the man who had crushed her without a second thought. The dress represented the Steven, no one knew but her, the dress just like her grasshopper necklace were touchstones to him. Things no one would ever understand but her, and she was about to make a statement again with the dress. 

The dress still looked brand new. Jackie had taken care of it obsessively, and made it sure it was always in the safest place in any closet she owned. The night she ran from the rehearsal dinner, and went back to the mansion it had already been packed in her bag. Even if Steven hadn’t come and gotten her, she would have never been able to leave it behind. Merely looking at it in this everyday moment filled her with a deep swell of love. 

Jackie closed her eyes, thought of the boy who spent his last dime to rent a tux, and had bought her a flower to match her dress. Everything about that night had been life transforming. Because she was a coward, she had fled from her feelings straight back into Kelso’s arms. Sometimes late at night she wondered what would their lives have been like if she had stayed at the dance that night with Steven.

_ What if she had never gone back to Kelso? _

_ What if she hadn’t been so incredibly stupid? _

_ Would that have stopped the events that took place?  _

_Would they have_ _suffered all the pain still?_

Jackie had long forgiven Steven for betraying her and breaking her heart. They had talked it to death. Jackie knew he still hated himself for his behavior after Chicago, until he finally got his head out of his ass. 

Forgiveness and her undying love for Steven didn’t mean she had forgotten. Just the thought of Sam still brought fresh hell to her heart, and even worse for her was the memory of her Steven hidden so completely under the hardness that was Hyde. She shook her head, to wipe away the wisps of a painful yesterday.

  
  


Jackie pulled out the dress and hung it on the hook of one of the cabinet doors. It had been years since the dress had been out of its bag, but she could still lightly smell her old lilac perfume, and she could have SWORN there was a waft of Steven’s familiar cologne. She closed her eyes and let the feel and the smell of the dress take her back. 

* * *

_ It had near killed her when she found out that Kelso had cheated on her with that slut Pam Macey of all people. Jackie had felt like someone had shoved splinters into her heart. It hurt more that he would do this to her when they had been friends for so long. Why would he hurt her this way when he claimed she was his soulmate? _

_ It baffled her, that he was genuinely surprised, she broke up with him. He had looked at her confused and hurt and said,  _

_ “What happened has nothing to do with how I feel about you.”  _

_ The crazy thing, was she could see that he meant it. She of course had run to Hyde just like she always did when lost and hurt. They had gotten into a fight about it. Him yelling at her, _

_ “Why did you put up with his crap? “When are you going to learn that Kelso is a complete ass?”  _

_ He had looked at her like she was stupid and that near broke her, because his opinion meant everything to her, it always had.  _

_ If Michael knew that her and Hyde had been friends since childhood, he would have had a fit. He never said anything, but sometimes she could see it in his eyes that he didn’t like how they interacted. They did everything they could to keep their friendship secret, because they didn’t want to share what they were to each other. She had pushed him into asking her to prom. Jackie knew he hated this stuff. No one knew better than her, things like school dances made him uncomfortable. She also knew that he couldn’t stand to see her unhappy, and that he would give in.  _

_ Observing Michael with Pam made her want to throw up, and she was jealous of how happy Donna and Eric appeared.  _ _ Her thoughts were scattered when Hyde brushed his thumb gently over her knuckles, and asked softly _

_ “Jacks? Do you want to dance?”  _

_ Jackie scanned his face looking for if he really wanted to or was just being considerate. She recognized only a genuine desire to be out there with her, and so she said yes easily. _

_ He took her hand, and pulled her out on the floor, Into the Mystic was crooning from the band. She had never noticed it before, but her hand fit his perfectly. He pulled her close, and she laid her head on his chest. She heard him take a sharp breath in. Jackie looked up at him, their eyes meeting, and she could establish he was truly happy to be there with her. The expression in those deep pools of blue was driving her heartbeat to frantic, and a warmth was swelling up inside of her, making her feel like nothing bad could ever have happened to her as long as she was in his arms. She tucked her head back on his chest, closed her eyes and enjoyed every part of him. He took the hand that was in his and tucked it close to his chest, laying it over his heart. _

_ Jackie didn’t realize it, but Hyde had his eyes closed as well. Holding her was heaven and hell mixed together. He had wanted this for so long, to hold her as his and not merely to comfort her when she was upset. Her pressed up against him was like having the very best high coursing through his soul.  _

_ Neither of them knew it, but they both understood at that moment that they loved each other, and they feared the other didn’t feel the same. It scared Jackie so much that she ran straight back to Michael. It was easier to be with him. Being with her Steven, which is now what she called him in her heart was risking her very soul. He didn’t notice and neither did she but from that moment on she never called him Hyde again. From the Prom on he was always Steven.  _

_ Loving Steven James Hyde scared the living hell out of her. _

* * *

The door slamming caused Jackie to come back to the here and the now. She heard her name being called loudly from down below,

“Mom?”

Jackie smiled softly, it was time to give Scarlet what she had been asking since she was a little girl.

“Scarlet, I am up here in my room!” 

Jackie stepped out of the closet and closed the door. She didn’t want her to know right away, besides they had a few things to talk about. Things that Jackie wished desperately she had someone to talk with about, but her mother was never present when Jackie needed her. She refused to do that with Scarlet, she wanted to be involved in all the important moments and guide her through the rough ones.

Scarlet stepped into her parents’ room to encounter her mom standing in the middle of it waiting for her. It never ceased to amaze her how beautiful her mother was. When she was little, she imagined her mom was a fairy princess, because she seemed to shine differently than her friends’ moms. People had told her almost her whole life that she looked exactly like Jackie, but she didn’t think so. No one on earth had eyes like her mom did. Daddy called them Gypsy eyes, because they didn’t match, and they always seemed to hold some secret. Scarlet had seen people stop dead in their tracks when she walked by. Her mother was more than a pretty face, she was fierce, funny, and not to be messed with. Scarlet wanted nothing more than to be just like Jackie. True, occasionally they fought or disagreed, but she idolized her mom. Scarlet’s most secret wish was that someone would love her like her Daddy loved her mom. At night when it was just her and her most secret of dreams, she believed Haze was her Steven. He didn’t know it, but he already had her heart, and she didn’t want it back. 

Jackie looked at her daughter and her mother’s heart felt a swell of pride and grief. Jackie knew that her baby girl was at a crossroads. Jackie could see in her eyes that she had found her heart’s desire, and she would never want anything else. 

“Hey Baby Doll… did you have fun shopping with AnneMarie?” Jackie asked

“Oh, we had the best time. SJ’s tongue is just going to drop out of his mouth when he sees AnneMarie. Her dress matches her eyes, and looks fantastic on her. Mom, you need to make sure he wears an emerald green shirt to match AnneMarie’s dress.” Scarlet chattered.

“I’m glad sweet pea, your brother needs something to shake up his life. What about you? Do you know what you want to wear?” Jackie prodded, hoping that Scarlet would ask what she had been asking since the age of 4.

Scarlet looked past her mother to stare at the main closet door. She knew what she wanted to wear. Scarlet had wanted to wear her mother’s dress from her first prom since the first time she saw it when she was 4. She used to beg to play in it, and had asked the last three years to wear it. It was terribly old fashion since it was from the 70s, but it had called to Scarlet for years. 

“No, nothing caught my eye. I thought maybe you and I could go check tomorrow. You always seem to know exactly where to look. You have magic dress powers.”

Jackie could see it written all over her face. Scarlet had been desperate for a long time to wear the dress. She smiled softly at her daughter and held out her hand.

“Come sit with me on the bed, for a minute Scarlet. I want to talk to you about a few things.” 

Scarlet felt her heart pick up a little bit, it wasn’t unusual for her and her mom to talk about things, but she sensed a seriousness in her mother’s tone.

Jackie sat them down, pushing her daughter’s hair behind her ear. Scarlet was so beautiful. Inside and out she was stunning. Studying her daughter’s face, Jackie wondered if she was ever this innocent or carefree. She knew the answer…. No. It gave her and Steven tremendous joy their children would never experience the hell of shitty parents. Jackie stared Scarlet straight in the eye and asked her the question she needed answered.

“Scarlet, tell me about Haze.”

She watched Scarlet’s face get flush, and her eyes skitter away. Jackie was having none of it. They were a family, that spoke with their eyes. She wanted to comprehend what Scarlet felt. 

“Look at me, Kathleen Scarlet.”

Scarlet’s eyes rose instantly to her mother’s, and she answered the only way she could. 

“He’s everything.” 

Jackie felt a tidal wave of emotion swell over her, at those two words. Her first thought was

_ Steven is going to have a fit  _

Followed by….

_ She’s so young _

_ My baby girl is in love _

_ Please don’t let her heart get crushed _

Jackie smiled at her daughter, whose eyes were shining with everything she already felt for this boy, that she had never met. What she did know was her daughter, and she knew that expression swimming in Scarlet’s gaze. This boy was everything, and there was no going back for Scarlet. 

“Tell me what that means baby girl?”

“I’ve liked him forever. I’ve been hoping since the first grade that one day he would like me too. When he is near me, my heart speeds up. When he touches me, I feel things I’ve never felt before. Mama, I’ve never wanted a boy to touch me, but when he looks at me that is all I want. He has kissed me twice, and I thought I would melt. He makes me feel things I don’t understand. I think I am in love with him. He’s the only boy I’ve ever wanted. He’s everything.”

Jackie’s heart both swelled and broke at Scarlet’s words. Her mother’s heart was breaking at the idea that her baby was so close to being a woman, and giving herself to someone else. She would never be theirs completely again. However, her woman’s heart was overjoyed, her daughter had found what she believed was  _ “Her Steven” _

“Baby, I’m going to ask you a question. I know it might be embarrassing, but I need you to be honest with me. If Haze asked you, would you have sex with him?”

Scarlet felt herself go bright pink, she couldn’t believe her mother asked if she would sleep with a boy who had barely kissed her. Still, for the first time in her life, it was a possibility she was willing to consider. 

“I don’t know, but if I felt like if he cared about me the same way, I don’t know that I wouldn’t”

Jackie was blunt in her response to Scarlet’s answer. 

“Kathleen Scarlet, if it is even a possibility, we need to get you on birth control.”

Jackie watched Scarlet’s face for a reaction. It would tell her if what she was anticipating was on the horizon. 

Scarlet looked at her mom with huge but serious eyes “Okay, Mom”

Jackie laid her head on top of her daughter’s, and said,

“Well, baby, I have a surprise for you. I have it hidden in my closet. Close your eyes and take my hand.”

Scarlet did what she was asked, her heart beating quickly. This was unlike her mother, and she couldn't help but hope her dream was on the other side of the door. Jackie took her child’s hand and led her into the closet and to her heart’s desire. Some of Scarlet’s happiest memories with her mom involved playing or pouring her heart out to her mom in this little sanctuary her Dad had built.

Her mother led her to bench and help her sit down.

“Can I open my eyes?”

“Go ahead Baby.” Jackie said with her heart in her throat. She couldn’t wait to see Scarlet’s face when she saw the dress. Scarlet’s eyes fluttered open, and directly in front of her was her idea of her fairytale dress. She whirled to her mother, stunned and joy filling her all the way up.

“Are you serious? I can wear it?” Scarlet squealed. If Hyde or SJ had been there, they would have cringed at her high-pitched tone. Jackie didn’t even blink, she simply said to her baby

“Yes, it's time.”

“Mom, why now? I’ve been begging for years.” Scarlet whispered, she could scarcely believe her mom was going to let her wear The Prom Dress she wore with Daddy. 

Jackie sat down next to Scarlet, and gently tucked her daughter’s hair behind her ear and tipped her chin to gaze directly at her. 

“Because he’s everything, Baby Doll. That’s why now. He matters.”

  
  


Hearing her mother say that caused tears to gather in Scarlet’s eyes, and she let them fall.

Jackie smiled sweetly at her girl, gently rubbed the tears away, and whispered

“Oh Baby Girl, I understand.” Never was a truer statement said, because no one understood desperate and all consuming love like Jackie did. 

* * *

Haze was sweating, as he stepped out of his car in front of the Hyde house. He was dressed up, had a flower for just his fucking luck, t _ he newest Madison High Homecoming Queen _ . He literally wanted to be anywhere else but here, but he started this when he flattened Trever, and he would see it through. God these last couple of weeks flirting with her had been the best few weeks of his miserable life. He can’t help but reflect on it as he strode up the sidewalk to pick her up.

* * *

_ The next day, after nearly kicking her brother's ass, he waited around afterschool by his Mustang. He knew she was at cheer. He could see her. Hell, he could hear her. She would have to walk right past him to get to her car. He watched the cheerleaders start to file out after practice. Finally she and the little pixie red head she always seemed to be with appeared. His chest got tight, it simply wasn't right, a girl should look that good. Her hair was pulled up in a high ponytail, her practice uniform showing all the gifts nature gave her, and a smile that could light up the darkest sky. It was impossible to not be attracted to her. The red head noticed him first and elbowed Scarlet. He recognized the minute she spotted him. Her eyes got wide and that smile exploded. Bless her friend, who got the hint and yelled as she sauntered off, _

_ “See you later Scarlet. Call me tonight!”  _

_ He watched her try to shut her happiness down and look like she didn’t care that he was there. He couldn't help but laugh at her trying to settle herself and appear indifferent.  _

_ She strolled up and said, “Are you waiting for me?” with a sassy little smile. _

_ “Sure am Tiny, I figured since you asked me to Homecoming, I better get the details about the gig. School dances are not my scene.” _

_ “What? I didn’t ask you! You told Trever, I was your date.” she snapped _

_ He smiled at her with his most annoying smirk and said, “I remember you saying in my Mustang “I’m guessing you don’t want to go with me? That sounds like asking to me.” _

_ She stomped her foot. If anyone else did that, it would be bratty, but on her it was fucking cute, and he wanted to grab her. _

_ She marched straight up to him and jabbed him in the chest. _

_ “Now you listen here, you started all this. I didn’t ask you to tell Trever we were going together.” _

_ Haze grabbed her hips and pulled her close “So, you don’t want to go then, that’s cool with me Tiny.” _

_ Her eyes had turned a golden color that he was starting to associate with her becoming turned on by him. He felt her breathing start to race, and he could see her cheeks get pink. _

_ God, this girl….. She radiated innocence. A voice in the back of his head was telling him that this girl, this very good girl, was not for him. Haze knew he could easily seduce her, but he didn’t want to. He liked her, really fucking liked her, against his better judgment. _

_ He watched her eyes start to glaze, and she asked softly “ Why do you call me Tiny?” _

_ He wanted to laugh, she was completely distracted. _

_ “I call you Tiny, because you are the smallest thing I’ve ever seen, like a tiny fairy.” _

_ He could see the reason behind the nickname pleased her. Then he lost his damn mind and told her the truth.  _

_ “I’ve been calling you that in my head since we were little” _

_ Her blush got deeper and Haze decided he was done playing around. He wanted to taste really her. He was far from satisfied by the little sips he had gotten so far. _

_ He tipped her chin and gruffly whispered, _

_ “Scarlet, I’m going to kiss you. If you don’t want me to you should tell me now.” _

_ “I’ve been waiting a really long time for you to kiss me.” _

_ It had startled him, but he could see she was dead serious, this was not a girl who could lie, her eyes would always give her away. He cupped her face and began to drink the sweetest nectar on earth. It rocked him, it was like something dead came back to life inside of him. Haze was no stranger to kissing girls, but this was the single best kiss of his life. _

_ She pulled back and looked at him with a naughty grin and said, “I guess we are going to Homecoming.” _

_ She then pranced off, leaving him stunned. She was going to be the death of him. _

* * *

Haze took a deep breath, knocked on the door, and came face to face with a man who looked none to thrilled to see him. He was correct in that estimate. Hyde was not happy at all. Hyde had been lucky so far. For the entire career of Scarlet going to dances she had gone with Jackson. He had been worried for years at some point that Jackson would stop seeing her as a sister and view her as a girl, but that had never come to pass. He had never had to deal with a boy coming to his door to take his baby away, but his luck was up, and he was pretty pissed about it.

Hyde wanted his daughter nowhere near this kid in front of him. He knew this kid. Hell, he was this kid. Hyde could identify the hardness, the reality of what life could give, and experience. This kid had led a whole different life than his baby girl. Hyde knew without a shadow of a doubt this kid knew the nasty side of life. There was a hardness in his stance and wariness in his eyes. What neither Jackie nor Scarlet knew, is that this damn kid boxed in the same place he did. Hyde had watched him fight. This kid got into the ring every time like he was fighting for his life. Every punch was about survival. Hyde understood that type of anger. He battled it still. Hell…. That was part of the reason he boxed for exercise. It was an outlet for him, and he knew this kid wanting to take his daughter was the same. He was fighting something, and whatever it was it was ugly. 

Haze stared at Scarlet’s dad, and for the first time in a long time he was intimidated by someone. It took a lot to intimidate him, but Steven Hyde did it. Age had not mellowed his outward persona nor the physicality he radiated. Haze had watched Scarlet's dad box several times. He considered himself plenty tough and an excellent boxer, but this man fought with an intensity that was terrifying. Haze was shrewd enough to know this man could and would tear him apart, without blinking or remorse. 

Hyde would always be Hyde and being a prick was still a sport for him. Hell would freeze over before he made this painless.

“And you are?” he says flatly

Haze swallowed heavily. SJ wasn’t kidding about their dad. SJ had approached him, and apologized for what he said to him about his sister. Haze could tell SJ didn’t want to, but that there was nothing he wouldn’t do for his sister, and Haze could respect that. In an effort to not be an ass, he attempted to give SJ some peace.

_ ‘Listen, I’m not fucking around with Scarlet. I’m not trying to hurt her, you have my word.” _

_ He watched SJ eye him shrewdly, and then sigh heavily.  _

_ “Listen Haze, I know I might appear intense. She’s my sister, she’s my best friend, and she is my fucking twin there is nothing I wouldn’t do for her. No matter how overprotective I seem…. It is going to appear like a walk in the park compared to my dad. He already fucking hates you for no other reason than you exist. Tread Lightly.” _

“My name is Haze. I’m here to pick up Scarlet, to take her to Homecoming.”

Hyde still had not moved to ask him in, and he snarked out, “Haze, what kind of name is that?”

Haze began to detect his blood start to boil, he doesn’t have to take this shit.

“What kind name is Hyde?” 

Hyde’s eyebrows shot up, and he actually grinned “Come in” 

Haze felt like he had just passed some test as he stepped into the living room. Whatever balance he thought he had was knocked away when the most stunning woman on earth stepped into the damn room. Haze had glimpsed Scarlet’s mom from a distance, there never had been doubt she was beautiful but holy crap….. She was Scarlet or Scarlet was her, he didn’t know. She positively burned bright, sharper, hotter and with something he couldn’t place. He was now convinced there was something magic about these women. Scarlet’s mom’s eyes didn’t match, and it was the most amazing thing he had ever seen. It was simply impossible to not stare at her.

“Eyes where they belong, kid”, Hyde snapped when he noticed Haze was knocked breathless by Jackie.

“Oh, stop it, Steven. I’m Jackie, Scarlet’s mom.” she said warmly and it relaxed him. Then he got stupid again,

“Yeah, that is obvious, you look just like her, tiny and pretty.”

Hyde started to growl and Jackie gave him a look. Much to Haze's surprise, he watched Scarlet’s dad stop immediately. 

“That is very kind of you to say Caleb. It is nice to meet you, let me call for Scarlet”

“Kathleen Scarlet, stop primping and get down here!” She yelled.

Haze flinched, he had heard Scarlet yell, but this woman completely put her daughter to shame. For being tiny women, they sure were loud. He wasn’t sure he had ever met anyone louder than the woman in front of him. He had a bizarre wonder where she kept all that sound in her tiny body.

Jackie turned back to him, “Caleb, tell us about yourself.”

He blinked again. No one called him Caleb, and it was freaking him out. He politely tried to correct her,

“Mrs. Hyde, I go by Haze.”

Hyde started laughing. He watched the kid go bright red, and look like he wanted to die. He was getting the death stare from his wife but God… Jackie never changed. 

“Yeah….good luck with that, your name is Caleb, and she will call you that until you forgot you didn’t want her to, believe me…. been there done that.”

Haze watched Jackie smile brightly at Hyde, and retort back “And who likes to be called Steven now?” 

She arched her eyebrow, and a sassy smile came over her face. Haze was transported to Scarlet in the hallway at school, giving him that same look. It seemed to have the same effect on Scarlet’s dad as it did him. Then all conversation stopped. It was a good thing because Haze stopped paying attention. Scarlet came down stairs and all eyes were on her.

Haze was stunned speechless, her hair was all pinned up. She had done something to make those Calico eyes bigger, brighter and stand out. She had on a long purple dress, it looked old fashion, but on her it was breathtaking, and it made her look soft, more delicate.

Behind him he heard Scarlet’s dad gasp and turned to Mrs. Hyde,

“Jackie, you didn’t. Are you trying to kill me? Any dress but that one! Any dress but that one with him. Fuck Jackie!”

Hyde felt his heart stutter at the sight of his daughter in Jackie’s dress. He blinked his eyes quickly to make sure it wasn’t a thousand years ago. His baby had never looked like his wife more. His eyes quickly went to Haze’s face. He watched it go soft and warm. All the earlier hardness nowhere in sight. Hyde silently yelled  _ “Fuck”  _ in his head. He was going to kill Jackie.

Haze heard Scarlet’s mom respond, “Hush, she looks beautiful. It’s a special dress, for a special moment.”

Haze didn’t know what Scarlet's parents were squabbling about, and he didn't care. He couldn't have torn his eyes away from her if he had tried.

“Hi” She whispered softly, and he forgot they weren’t alone “You look beautiful, Tiny.”

Behind him Hyde exploded

“Oh, for Fuck's sake! JACKIE!”

Haze didn’t know it, but Hyde instinctively took a step forward towards this kid who was drowning in his daughter's eyes. He wanted to smash him up against the wall, and tell him to stay the hell away from her. Hearing him call her Tiny, was a piercing pain. He didn’t want this kid to have a special name for her. He didn’t want this punk making Scarlet his Doll. Jackie’s hand slapped him on the chest, and the look she gave him could have stopped a tsunami. He took a deep breath, and tried to tell himself killing someone in his living room was a bad idea.

Haze was completely oblivious to anything but Scarlet. He put her flower on her wrist, completely ignoring her parents, and asked if she was ready to go.

Scarlet kissed her mom and kissed her dad’s cheek

“I love you Daddy. Try not to worry.”

He watched a man who looked like he could kill someone with his bare hands, completely melt and pull his daughter close

“I love you, Baby Doll. Have fun”

Scarlet couldn’t see it, but the look her father was giving Haze was clear and to the point 

“You hurt my daughter, I will kill you.”

She broke away and tucked her hand in this arm and said, “I’m ready to go.” 

Hyde watched them step out, and witnessed the damn kid pause and gently tuck a stand of hair that had fallen loose behind his baby’s ear. An action he had done to Jackie more times than he could count. 

He turned to Jackie, whose eyes were sympathetic.

“Doll, he calls her Tiny. What the hell am I going to do? Why that dress?”

Jackie put herself in his arms and noticed them go tight. 

“Steven, she looks beautiful in that dress, and she has been asking to wear it for years. I’ve been waiting till I knew it was the right boy and the right time. I know you don’t want to hear it but our daughter is his Doll, his Tiny. He loves her already, he just doesn’t know it yet. Sound familiar?”

Hyde closed his eyes, “Jackie, I don’t want her to get hurt, I recognize myself in that kid. He’s led a whole different life than her.”

Jackie held him tight, “Baby, somethings you can’t prevent and protect her from. He’s going to hurt her, she’s going to hurt him. Just like we did.”

“God, I hope not Jackie. Because I can’t deal with knowing all the awful shit I did to you being repeated on my daughter.”

Jackie just held him and hoped one day that her husband would forgive himself for all those hurts all those many years ago.

* * *

Haze pretty much couldn’t bring himself to speak in the car. He had no idea what he was doing, going to the School Dance with the Damn Homecoming Queen. He didn’t know what he was doing with a girl who had not even begun to understand the shit side of life. This is why he had stayed away from her for years. She deserved someone better than him. Someone not fucked up. He was watching her out of the side of his eye. She was smiling softly and it sounded like she was humming. He couldn’t help but ask,

“Whatcha humming Tiny?’

They pulled up just as he asked. “Tiny Dancer, it’s my Mom’s favorite song “

“Perfect song for you and your mom.” He said as he swept his finger under her chin.

She smiled softly and touched his hand gently, “Are you ready for this?”

Haze can’t help but be brutally honest “Hell No, but at least I have the hottest girl in the school.”

* * *

It had been hellish tonight, watching her get crowned, dance with that fucker Trever for the court dance, and just being there in general. He could see all the eyes on them, and there was no doubt what they were all thinking 

_ “What the hell was Haze, the bad boy doing there with the Golden Girl of School?” _

Every stare. Every Whisper. Every shocked face, made him want to punch someone in the face. Their questioning and judgemental stares, rubbed at his deepest insecurity, he was nothing but trash. A guy, like him, should be nowhere near a girl like Scarlet. If he was honest, he didn’t disagree. 

He was starting to get angry when Scarlet came back to him from her Homecoming Queen Duties. Only she could make a cheap tiara look like the Crown Jewels of England. He was surprised to see her take it off and place it on the table. She gazed at him sweetly,

“Can we dance?” 

He started to tell her it really wasn’t his thing, but then she looked at him and said,

“Please?” 

He learned his first lesson in having no defense against that please.

It at least was a decent song,  _ Patience by Guns and Roses. _ He took her hand and followed her out to the dance floor. Without hesitation, she wrapped herself into his arms, and on instinct he gathered her to him. Having her close was not a bad deal, he could smell her lilac shampoo and a slight smell of rose. He looked down, and noticed her eyes seemed far away.

“Hey there, Kathleen Scarlet, where are you at?” he asked teasingly

Without thinking, she answered, “I love this song, and it fits this moment, I knew that one day if I had Patience you might like me too.”

It ridiculously pleased him that she had been wishing for him for years. It made him want to scream to all the questioning eyes, that she wanted him. They could all go to hell. He pulled her even closer. She laid her head on his chest, and he didn’t think he had ever felt this good. Her innocent desire to be near him was turning him on in a way he had never experienced. 

He was pulled from his thought when she whispered to him what was in her heart.

“Caleb, I really like you….. If you don’t like me, please let me go, I can’t handle it if you are just teasing me.”

She looked up, and he could see she was serious. He could see she liked him desperately, and that she wanted to be with him. If he wanted her, she was his for the taking. 

“Scarlet, I don’t think you need to worry about that. I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t want to be with you.”

Her smile went brilliant, and then she laid her head back on him, and he felt his heart clutch. This girl was his. All those years he imagined it, now it was true. He couldn’t help but close his eyes and absorb the lyrics to the song. She was right, they fit the moment perfectly;

_ Girl, I think about you every day now _

_ Was a time when I wasn't sure _

_ But you set my mind at ease _

_ There is no doubt you're in my heart now _

Haze wasn’t the type of person who would ever be skilled at expressing his feelings, or even understand what was he feeling. It was why he liked music so much, he could connect a song with what was overwhelming to him. Patience by Guns and Roses would forever be linked in his mind to the most defining moment of his life, when he understood with stunning clarity

_ “She’s mine” _

There would be no going back for either of them. A new generation of a boy who had experienced the hardest parts of life; would find love and redemption from the strangest source, the cheerleader with a heart too big for her own good.

* * *

Across the gym, SJ was holding AnneMare close to his chest, and enjoying what he normally would have called a  _ “lame ass dance.” _ SJ experienced a jolt inside his body. The minute Scarlet gave her heart to Haze all the way, he was hit with a wave of emotion. SJ was twinning. He could feel what Scarlet was feeling in his own body. Her joy and love were flooding through him. He could actually hear her voice in his head, her heart was chanting  _ “Forever.” _

Everything Scarlet was experiencing was huge, and he was near drowning in it. He could feel something pulling away from him. Being twins Scarlet and him were intertwined, and they had always been able to experience each other’s hurt and joy. Some people didn’t believe twins were connected that way, and his answer would be screw you. SJ had been twinning his whole life, his first memory of it was when they were toddlers. Scarlet had fallen off a swing at the park, and he felt the air in his lungs get knocked out of him. 

So when he felt something snap inside of himself, he knew she had given a part of herself to Haze. A part of his sister was being taken away from him, and given to someone else. It was agony to know that his sister would never be fully his ever again. He could envisage, understand, and feel everything she felt for Haze, but SJ didn’t have that luxury with Haze. At that moment he was petrified his sister would get crushed, that was simply not acceptable to him, and his heart was already preparing to fight if Haze dared to hurt her.

AnneMarie, felt something shift in SJ. His body had gone tense, almost rigid. She gazed up at him, and his eyes were focused across the gym. His normally guarded face looked devastated. 

“Steven? What is it? Are you okay?”

Without thinking, SJ answered “She’s in love with him. I can feel it.”

AnneMarie gazed over her shoulder to find SJ’s quarry. She sighed happily for her friend. Scarlet looked like she could float away on her happy, her feelings beaming out of her. Her lips quirked up,

“Obvious that is. You can see it across her face.”

He shook his head. “You don’t understand. I can actual feel it. I feel how she feels, because it is so intense. I’m twinning. She loves him.”

  
  


She gazed at him, his face was almost pale, like he was in pain. “Steven, is that a bad thing?”

He finally looked down at her. SJ let himself find steadiness in her emerald gaze, but he was still blunt and to the point,

“It is when he doesn’t deserve her.”

AnneMarie reached up and stroked his face. She watched his face soften, and his eyes lost their intensity. She loved how her touch seemed to calm him. She noticed it when his grandfather died, and she had held him close. His body had gone from rigged to relaxed. It was like she was Steven Whisperer. She couldn’t know it, but across town in SJ’s house was a woman who was wrapped around her husband soothing his worries away, nearly the same as AnneMarie was trying to. It seemed SJ was destined like his father to have a small but fierce woman be what brought him to safe shore.

“Steven, who says he doesn't deserve her?” 

SJ was about to reply _“That he did,_ _and he could bet money his father sure as hell agreed with him,_ when she destroyed the argument that had not even left his lips.

“It is up to her to decide if he deserves her or not. Not you, Steven James. If you trust your sister, then you trust she wouldn't give her heart to someone unworthy”

She watched his eyes go downcast, and he softly replied, “I don’t want him to hurt her.”

AnneMarie felt her own heart slip further and further away from her. How could she not love this sweet and loyal man holding her close. She, without a thought, brought her hands up to his face, and pulled him to her lips. 

SJ was briefly shocked by the kiss but let himself fall into it. It made him feel like the rest of the world had been washed away, and his worries about Scarlet instantly stopped.

AnneMarie pulled back “I know you don’t want her to get hurt.” She stroked his cheek. 

SJ sensed something swirling inside of him, his own feelings were quieting Scarlet’s in his soul. He brought her as close as he could, and in a moment of rare openness, he whispered softly to her

“I like you, Annie. You make me feel things that I don't have words for.” 

AnneMarie watched everything about his features get soft, his eyes warm, and it was all for her. 

She forgot they were in the middle of their high school gym. She forgot the whole school was present. The only place she was, was lost in him. She stopped dancing, cupped his face again, and whispered 

“ My Grá”

This was the second time SJ had heard her slip into Irish and use this word. It sounded so personal and so sweet, and only for him. He couldn’t help himself, he had to know

“What does that mean?”

Her eyes went fire green, and a fierceness he had never noticed came over her face. She softly but with strength replied,

“It means My Love”

His whole body reacted. SJ forgot just like AnneMarie where he was, and this time he cupped her face, and he drew her to him, and kissed her deeply. Everything he felt, poured into her, words he didn’t have, feelings he couldn't name, he pushed into the kiss. 

Their whole world stopped, and started again, except now there was no AnneMarie, and there was no SJ. There was only Annie and Steven.

* * *

At the exact moment, Scarlet gasped loudly, almost stumbling in Haze’s arms. He caught her quickly. “Hey there Tiny, Everything okay?” 

Just like her brother had done moments ago, a swell of emotion that wasn’t hers filled her mind and body. It almost paralyzed her, and her eyes quickly found him across the gym. At the exact moment, her brother opened his eyes, and just like their parents before them, a whole conversation took place. 

Haze turned quickly to see what had Scarlet so hypnotized, and he watched the Hyde twins taking part in the most intense game of  _ don’t blink _ he had ever seen. Her face was glowing, like someone had lit a match up inside of her. 

“Scarlet?” he asked again. He wanted to know what lit her up like that.

Her eyes moved back to his, they were blazing. She whispered without thinking,

“He’s in love. He loves her. I can feel it.” 

Haze didn’t know what to say to that, but he swept her back into his arms, and she laid her head on his chest. She was quivering with emotion, and Haze couldn’t help wonder if SJ knew her heart the way she knew his. For once in his life Haze made a wish, and prayed that it would actually come true

_ “Let her love me.” _


End file.
